5 tips on booking affordable flights

Booking your flights for work or a holiday should be a quick and exciting process. Time is too precious to waste it spending hours searching for affordable airline tickets. kulula.com, South Africa’s most loved airline, shares five valuable tips on booking affordable flights, because saving on flights means more money to have fun with on your holiday.

1. early bird catches the cheapest flight

If you have time on your side, book your tickets far in advance. Ticket prices are influenced by supply and demand, so where possible try not to book the day before. When kulula offers tickets to the public, it starts by selling the lowest fares. As those tickets are taken up, the next batch of tickets are released and priced accordingly. And this goes on until the aircraft is full.

Tickets over busy periods such as special holidays, long weekends, major sporting events and concerts will always be more expensive, so book as far in advance as possible. If you’re heading to the coast for the summer holidays – book your tickets now to get better deals.

2. keep calm and fly on a quiet day

If your work and leave schedule allows, try to book a Tuesday, Wednesday or Saturday flight. These are generally the least busy days of the week, which means less demand for seats, and less demand means lower prices. Just think about how many business travellers are trying to get home on a Friday evening and to work on a Monday morning - the most expensive days to fly are Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays as flights on these days are in high demand.

3. it’s all about timing

Avoid favourable peak times as these flights are most expensive. Flying mid-morning can save you a good few hundred rands, and you won’t have to contend with traffic on your way to the airport. Also, flying later in the evening from 19:30 onwards is usually a more affordable option.

4. avoid the mainstream

When flying to a city with more than one airport, check which route offers cheaper flights. In the greater Gauteng area, flying to and from Lanseria airport is often cheaper than O.R. Tambo International Airport, as they charge lower airport taxes, so airlines can afford to charge less for these tickets. Although it may mean car rental and more travel time, it might still be worth it.

5. make the most of loyalty rewards

Sign up for kulula’s newsletter and get alerts when tickets are going on sale the day before so you can be ready to jump online first thing in the morning. If you are a kulula credit cardholder you can earn kulula moolah whenever you swipe your credit card. Your kulula moolah can be used to pay or part-pay for flights booked on kulula.com. Discovery Vitality members qualify for a discount when booking kulula flights.

With a less busy period upon us and lower demand for flights, kulula has lots of great value seats available. So before the busy school holiday period, now is the time to take advantage of these value flights and enjoy a winter getaway. Visit www.kulula.com to view prices and book your next flight, or click on our ‘combine and save feature’ and see great value flight, hotel and car packages.

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